The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel presents a set of tools for large issues such as story development and scene construction, and it also examines methods to make sentence-by-sentence writing shine. The guide shows you the skills used by writers such as John Grisham, Maeve Binchy, Jeffery Deaver, and Charles Dickens. What makes their novels hard to put down? The Essential Guide sets out their techniques in concise detail.
"One of the best books on the subject. It's a master's writing class in one package and essential for any author's reference library." --Jeff Ayers at Author Magazine.
"Jim is a novelist and writing teacher, and is a firm believer that writing can be taught. His advice is always clear, sound, and easy to grasp." --William Kenower, editor-in-chief, Author Magazine.
|
Locked in a dilapidated desk for decades, a lost Edgar Allan Poe poem is destined to bring together the unlikeliest of partners, a down-at-the-heels boxer and a lovely English professor. A voodoo priestess will help their romance, and a gangster will try to destroy it, and them.
"Thayer steps out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary. The chemistry between the battle-scarred boxer Dennis and the beautiful socialite Isobel is mesmerizing. . . . will delight you." --Book Browser.
"Master, magical, and compelling." --Baker Record-Courier.
| |
 |
| The Gold Swan |
|
| "Sophisticated story of East / West manners and politics, with a Maugham-like narrator. Thayer's twelfth solidifies his reputation as an elegant stylist and presents complex issues with haunting lucidity." Kirkus Reviews.
"You're flipping the pages to find out if the Swan stands firm or goes crashing into the waves." --Washington Post.
|
"A great read. . . . A first-rate account of the fascinating investigative efforts of the NTSB." Houston Chronicle.
"Riveting. . . . Compelling." --Boston Globe.
"Superbly crafted thriller. . . . Lucid prose and expert pacing keep the excitement high." --Kirkus Reviews.
|
 |
| Terminal Event |
|
|
 |
| Man of the Century |
|
| "A spectacular adventure . . . . Funny and clever." --Cologne Anzeiger (Germany.)
"Gleefully irreverant. . . . A hilarious historical farce. . . . [A]n impeccably researched picaresque." --Kirkus Reviews.
|
"Blockbuster is written all over it. . . . Thayer's plot is focused and energetic, his prose erudite but clear." --Seattle Time.
"Fans of Jack Higgins will devour this fast-paced thriller." --Publisher's Weekly.
|
 |
| Five Past Midnight |
|
|
 |
| White Star |
|
| "Absorbing . . . . Gripping." --Newgate Callendar, the New York Times Book Review.
"A heart-thumping thriller." --The Boston Globe.
"Streamlined prose and a masterful control of detail culminate in one of the most taut and apocalyptic novels of the season." --Arena (United Kingdom.)
|
"Exceptionally entertaining and provacative." --Kirkus Reviews.
"Thayer's novel elucidates the Final Reward philosophy that states that antisocial elements may be made more harmonious through the liberal application high-velocity therapy. He presents numerous episodes where this technique is efficacious, especially when coupled with exothermic concussive devices." --John D. Reagh III.
|
 |
| S-Day |
|
|
 |
| Ringer |
|
| "By far the most enjoyable thriller of the season. Ringer has all the dash of Ian Fleming at his best. . . . [Ringer] will dash you along as fast as you can turn the pages and then send you off contented." --Chicago Tribune.
"If Frederick Forsyth and Tom Clancy had written Our Man in Havana, they couldn't have done a better job that James Thayer has done with Ringer." --San Diego Union.
|
"A tremendously successful tale of suspense . . . an exceptionally tight plot. . . impeccably correct detail." --Houston Post.
"I simply could not put it down. . . . Thayer's research is staggering." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"Belongs in the same company as The Day of the Jackal. . . Brutal, brisk, and believable. . . . The finale sings." --New York Daily News.
|
 |
| Pursuit |
|
|
 |
| The Earhart Betrayal |
|
|
"As exciting as The Maltese Falcon. . . . A finely written maze." --The Nashville Banner.
|
"Gripping. . . . Marvelous." --Seattle Times.
"A fine thriller, full of spies and suspense. . . fascinating." --Milwaukee Journal.
""Fast moving. . . skilfully done. . . engrossing." --Grand Rapids Press.
|
 |
| The Stettin Secret |
|
|
 |
| The Hess Cross |
|
| "A rousing spy melodrama. . . for anyone who cannot resist history's 'what might have beens'. . . fine entertainment." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
"A super Nazi thriller beyond The Eagle Has Landed." --Publisher's Weekly.
|
|
|
